Thu 04 June 2020:
Defence secretary Ajay Kumar has tested positive for COVID-19, making him the highest ranking Central government official to be infected with the SARS-CoV2 virus, well-placed sources told The Wire on Wednesday.
The Wire has also learned that two key officials quarter-backing the government’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis – Dr Balram Bhargava, head of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Vinod Paul of the Niti Aayog – are in self-isolation following the discovery of COVID cases among work colleagues.
Though neither Bhargava or Paul has tested positive, they are self-quarantining themselves for two weeks following the government-prescribed protocol in such situations.
Total COVID-19 cases in India now stand at over 216,000, of which 106,000 cases are active, and just over 6,000 people have died of the illness.
Among the Indian defence forces, the Navy has accounted for most of the reported positive cases. In April, 26 sailors posted on board INS Angre – a logistical and administrative support base –tested positive for COVID-19, all of them traced back to a single infected sailor.
The military had also been roped in to set up quarantine facilities for returning Indian nationals abroad, who had managed to return in flights before they were stopped in late March and India went down into lockdown.
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